Teen Dies in Car Accident on Road Named After His Dad

This is so sad. An 18-year-old South Carolina student was killed in a car crash on Thursday. He died on a stretch of road that was named after his father, a local soldier who was killed in Afghanistan.

Aaron Shawn Hill and three of his classmates were driving along Sergeant Shawn F. Hill Memorial Highway when they were hit head-on by a 2004 Chevrolet pick-up, reports the Spartanburg Herald Journal. Aaron was behind the wheel.

According to a statement from the Spartanburg County Coroner's Office, the Byrnes High School student was pronounced dead at the scene. He was wearing his seat belt. The other passengers in his car survived with injuries and were taken to a local hospital.
The section of Highway 129 where Aaron died was named after his father over two years ago. Sgt. Hill served the National Guard for 12 years until he was killed in Afghanistan when his vehicle hit a roadside bomb.

"(Aaron) was a good kid, a happy kid," Sheriff Chuck Wright, who knew the 18-year-old personally, said. "His family has been through a lot. It's very tragic."